Surfactant free fabrication of copper sulphide (CuS–Cu2S) nanoparticles from single source precursor for photocatalytic applications

Abstract A simple, ethylene glycol chemical reduction method was employed to synthesize CuS–Cu 2 S nanoparticles from single source copper thiourea complex for removal of persistent organic dyes. Fabricated CuS–Cu 2 S nanoparticles were characterized by powder XRD (PXRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Photocatalytic behaviour of CuS–Cu 2 S nanoparticles was evaluated under direct sunlight for degradation of methylene blue, malachite green, methyl orange, methyl violet and rhodamine B with the help of UV–vis spectroscopy.